In their own words

Lindsey Van — I started ski jumping at the age of 7, and have been jumping for 22 years now. I have learned so much about myself and what I am capable of through ski jumping. I love jumping, and that has always kept my interest. It wasn't always easy, but the hard parts made me appreciate the best parts even more. When I started ski jumping I was one of the only girls and I trained mostly with boys. There weren't many competitions that had a women's class, so I competed with the boys until I was 17 years old.

Sarah Hendrickson - Since the beginning of my ski jumping life I have been known by the name of Giggles. Many ask how I got this nickname and I will tell you it’s not from being outgoing and bubbly like it might suggest, but rather the opposite. When I started ski jumping at the age of 7, I was the deﬁnition of shy. You could say I was “attached to my mother’s hip” and not really in a good way. I hardly ever spoke and if you could get a sound out of me — it was just a giggle.

Nina Lussi — The poster girl for ski racing worldwide — Lindsey Vonn — is perpetually in the spotlight. She has graced Wheaties boxes, befriended tennis legend Roger Federer and has even graced Sports Illustrated's Swimsuit Edition. Behind the scenes though, there is another similarly named women’s sporting pioneer hard at work: ski jumper Lindsey Van. It was March 18, 2005 when my coach Larry Stone told me I was ready to make the next step in ski jumping and take my first jump off of the K90 meter, Olympic sized hill in Lake Placid, NY. I was just 10 years old and our junior practice on the K48 meter jump had just wrapped up. I was smiling, confident and jumping better than ever before.

Nancy Hendrickson - If I had known what I know now, would I have encouraged my daughter to be a ski jumper? Hands down, absolutely YES! It certainly hasn’t all been rosy, but I honestly can say the experiences that Sarah has experienced, have been remarkable — life changing.

As a tiny 7 year old, Sarah started out jumping with sheer determination on her face; she loved it and couldn’t wait for her next jump session. As the jump sessions increased and the hill size increased, I could see the strength, focus, discipline, and drive that this sport has gifted her. We all think our children are “gifted”, and as a parent that is exactly what we are supposed to do, but I caution the parent who is more driven than the child.